In the Aftermath
by Crystal Rose of Pollux
Summary: [Ficlit, post World of Light] In spite of having succeeded in restoring everything back to the way they were before, Luigi and his fellow fighters still find themselves with heavy hearts following their struggle. Mario has an idea on how to help cheer everyone up, but he might need a reminder to look after himself, as well. Follow-up to "A Devil Put Aside for Me."


_Notes: I wrote this oneshot for the anniversary of Luigi's debut on July 14, 1983; this is a follow-up to my World of Light fic, "A Devil Put Aside for Me" (which a few reviewers were asking for a follow-up). As such, there will be several references to that fic, but I still think it's followable without having to read it_.

* * *

It was four in the morning, well before dawn, when Luigi decided that he may as well get up and have an early start to the day, leaving a note on his bunk for his brother to find. Since he, his brother, and their friends and fellow fighters (even with a few enemies) had finally defeated Galeem and Dharkon, they had attempted to recover and return to a normal routine before restarting the tournament. But recovering was easier said than done, and what had followed were sleepless nights, or, in Luigi's case, nights filled with dreams of getting vaporized by Galeem, enslaved by him and Dharkon simultaneously after getting set up to be captured by them, courtesy of his longtime archenemy King Boo, Ganondorf's zeal to use Luigi to tap into the power of the Void, and the looming spectres of Dracula, Carmilla, and Death, also after the same thing. Unlike Ganondorf, whose memory had been altered by Mewtwo to forget Luigi's link to the Void, Dracula and his minions remembered. And Death had slain him once before—Luigi hadn't even fully gotten over _that_ before Galeem had killed him again; really, it was a miracle that he was alive now, having been able to come back from both of those. Luigi was no stranger to death, having been revived by his frantic brother on occasions before—thank goodness for one-up mushrooms! But these last two had been particularly grisly ends—deaths that one-up mushrooms wouldn't have been able to reverse.

But weighing even more heavily than the fates that had befallen him were the ones that had befallen his brother. Mario had died first to Ridley and then to Galeem (Mario's eventual revival from both of those had also been nothing short of a miracle, like his own)—and then had nearly died a third time when Dharkon's poison had infected the light fighters. That was what haunted Luigi's nightmares most of all—being unable to save his brother, and watching as his still form was engulfed by darkness… That was what had caused him to awaken and decide that sleep wasn't worth it at the moment.

The vast mansion was eerily quiet at this hour of the morning, and Luigi ended up in the kitchen. He had just started on getting to work on some pancake mix when the Alolan Raichu he had befriended during the whole ordeal—the one who usually served as a Pokéball summon during matches—had also found his way there.

"Hey, perfect timing," Luigi said, managing a smile. "I was just about to make a batch!"

"Rai, Rai Raichu!"

"…Yeah, that's right—you _are_ psychic…" Luigi trailed off with a yawn.

"Rai, Chu Rai?"

"I'm fine; I just decided that I didn't want to deal with nightmares anymore at the moment, so I headed down here…"

"Chaa…"

"…You, too, huh?" Luigi sighed. "I never know what to do about…"

He trailed off as Samus entered the kitchen with a drowsy Pikachu on her shoulder; she paused in surprise to see Luigi and Raichu there, but Pikachu perked up slightly and began to converse with his fellow electric mouse.

"I saw the light on in here and thought it might be Link starting breakfast," Samus explained.

"Nope—it's just me," Luigi said. "Want a pancake?"

"Sure, why not?" Samus said, sitting at the table. "I'd ask how you're holding up, but seeing as though you're making pancakes at four in the morning answers that one pretty well."

"…Yeah, I guess so…" Luigi sighed. "I've been having so many nightmares about this whole thing."

"You're certainly not alone in that," Samus said. "I think all of us are suffering from what happened—some of us more than others."

"Yeah," Luigi sighed, as he served a pancake to Samus and to each of the electric mice. "Mario seems to be doing alright."

"Really?" Samus asked. "I'd have thought he'd be taking it hard, especially after he hadn't been able to lead us in our first battle against Galeem at the cliffside."

"Well, he was in a bad place after… what happened at Dracula's Castle," Luigi sighed. "I'm telling you, Samus, I'd never seen Mario so shaken before. I'm just glad he was able to be a leader again, even if it took a while. He seems to be holding up alright now; if he's had any nightmares, he hasn't mentioned it to me."

"That may be my fault," Sheik said, joining them. "…Forgive me; I smelled pancakes, and I thought Link was preparing breakfast."

"Nope, just me, but I can get you a pancake, too," Luigi said again. "But what's this you were saying about Mario?"

"Just that I suspect that Mario might be putting on a brave face because of a conversation we had when he rescued me from Galeem," Sheik replied. "There's no need to go into details, but, in the heat of the moment, I did get slightly sharp with him about needing to regain his confidence and once again wear the mantle of a leader. Perhaps he still feels that's necessary, even after we won." Sheik paused. "I know you care about your brother very much; I'll apologize to you as I did to him about the tone in which I delivered those words, but not the words themselves. It was necessary, I feel, to snap him out of the state he'd been in up until that point."

"…If I'd been there, I probably would've been angry with you," Luigi admitted. "But I'm also grateful that you got him back to his old self."

"That, I did," Sheik agreed. "But, as I said, I feel he may be trying to swing too much in the other direction now. If he is burdened by what happened, as the rest of us are, he mustn't continue to let those feelings fester."

"Yeah, he shouldn't…" Luigi said, looking slightly worried. "I kept doing that when I was upset about being left behind, and it created the Negative Zone. I can't let Mario go through that!"

"Then you need to talk to him, Luigi," Peach said, as she and Daisy entered the kitchen, too. "I'll try, too, of course, but we both owe it to him."

"Looks like a meeting of the Insomniacs' Club here," Daisy sighed. "Welp, might as well have coffee and make it official, if you've got any—" She was cut off as Luigi indicated the percolating coffee machine on the counter over his shoulder. "Oh, sweet mercy…"

She made a beeline for the coffee machine.

"It's one of Professor E. Gadd's special blends from the Beanbean Kingdom," Luigi said. "Anyone else want a cup?"

"I'll take one," Simon Belmont said, as he entered the kitchen, but then paused. "…I thought—"

"It was Link?" Luigi finished for him. "Nope, but I'll get that coffee for you, too. Pancake?"

"Perhaps later; just coffee for now," the vampire hunter said, sitting down at the table with the women.

"I'll take a pancake, though," Isabelle chimed in, also entering the kitchen. She paused to see Luigi there, but quickly got over it. "I hope the Mayor was able to escape any bad dreams this time…"

"This must be so difficult for the younger fighters," Samus said.

"You can say that again," Bowser said, entering as he cradled a trembling Junior in one arm. He paused as he, too, noticed Luigi.

"Let's save some time; it's not Link, it's me—do you want a pancake?" Luigi asked.

"Actually, I came here for some warm milk for Junior; don't bother, I'll get it myself…" Bowser said. He opened the fridge, got a glass bottle of milk, and quickly breathed some fire under it to heat it up before adding a small bit of sugar to it, and handed it off to Junior. He awkwardly glanced a Peach for a moment; it was she who stood up and offered him her spot at the table, opting to join Daisy at the coffee machine. Bowser, more concerned with his youngest child's fears, soon turned his attention back to Junior.

"How are the Koopalings?" Sheik asked him.

"You know teenagers," Bowser sighed. "They don't want to admit that it's getting to them, but they're taking out their feelings on Sandbag. As long as they're getting them out there, I guess I can live with that…"

Other sleepless fighters soon joined them, most of them expressing their surprise to see Luigi instead of Link. The plumber soon found himself on the verge of becoming a short-order cook as the tired and hungry fighters began to ask for more pancakes than he could keep up with.

"Luigi—"

"I know, you were expecting Link!" he exclaimed, but it was his turn to pause as he saw his brother there.

"…Actually, Bro, I was looking for you—I got your note," Mario said. "You look like you could use a sous-chef."

"_Grazie_…"

They were both soon spared from the rest of the cooking detail as Link himself joined them, accompanied by the other two Links. The oldest Link good-naturedly took over the cooking, allowing the brothers to relax a bit.

It soon became clear that most, if not all, of the other fighters were suffering from poor sleep on account of what had happened, and Luigi now glanced at his brother, as though trying to gauge whether or not he, too, was also suffering and merely trying to hide it. But Mario seemed deep in thought, and soon snapped his fingers.

"I've got it!" he said. "What we need is something fun and exhilarating to get our minds off of what happened. If we can have fun again, it'll prove that we can keep moving on—there's no way we're going to be stuck here like this!"

"What did you have in mind, Mario?" Peach asked.

"The same thing we always do back in the Mushroom Kingdom when we want to unwind—a kart race! Master Hand has arenas based on racetracks—and we have karts and bikes lying around that we can use! It wouldn't be a competition—just a fun joyride around all of the courses!"

"Well, that's good in theory, but with you, nothing is ever _not_ a competition," Sonic mused.

"Look who's talking—the resident speedy showoff," Kazooie countered, a smirk playing about her beak. "I bet you wouldn't even use a kart—you'd just run alongside all the karts on your own two feet!"

"Some friendly competition might be good after all!" Mario said, after thinking about it. "And if Sonic wants to race on foot, he's more than welcome to! Anyone who wants to race can join in."

"Well, I think it's a great idea," Peach said. "But don't exclude talking things over—that's important, too."

Mario nodded.

"That's right, anyone who needs to talk about what happened should do that, too," he said, in a tone that suggested that he had no need to.

Luigi just sighed to himself; this was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

Mario had been right about one thing—a low-key, casual race around the many racetrack-inspired stages actually were working wonders for helping them learn to enjoy things again. Though not all of the fighters opted to race, even those who didn't, like Mewtwo and Bayonetta, still found themselves enjoying spectating the race. Even Master Hand and Crazy Hand, drawn by the commotion, took the time to watch; pretty much the only ones who _weren't_ participating in any capacity were Ridley and Ganondorf, neither of whom were missed.

In the spirit of keeping the race casual, Mario encouraged everyone to feel free to share and exchange their vehicles; Bowser Junior and one of the Inklings were soon joyriding in his Clown Car (much to his father's relief, seeing him in better spirits now), Mario hitched a ride with Pit in the Lightning Chariot, and Peach, Daisy, and Zelda were quick to commandeer the Blue Falcon. Sonic, as Kazooie had predicted, was keeping up with everyone on foot and enjoying himself immensely.

Luigi had just handed off his kart to Dedede when he saw that Link had set his Master Cycle Zero aside to try out the Badwagon. Still half-amused from the long line of people that morning who had expected to see Link in the kitchen and had been surprised to see him instead, Luigi hopped on the bike to try it out. Raichu excitedly levitated alongside him as he took the bike for a spin. It handled very nicely, even if it looked thoroughly unlike the usual bikes Luigi rode for the races back home; in fact, he only just barely had to steer the bike—it was almost as though he could control it telepathically to some degree.

A rare confident smirk crossed his face as he accelerated the bike to max speed, weaving in and around the other vehicles to pull towards the lead position; Link had glanced at him as he passed him—and then did a double-take, looking stunned, presumably at seeing Luigi handle the Master Cycle Zero with such proficiency.

Mario, still riding in the Lightning Chariot, could also see the confident look on his brother's face; it always made him happy to see that, being so rare. And Pit just seemed amused to see Link so stunned.

"Ha!" he chuckled. "Guess Link didn't expect someone to ride his fancy ride as good as he can!"

"There's a bit more to it than that."

Mario and Pit glanced to their left to see Master Hand flying beside them, wanting to get a better view of the race.

"What do you mean?" Mario asked.

"Link's Master Cycle Zero isn't just a Sheikah-tech motorcycle," Master Hand explained. "It's what's known in Link's era of Hyrule as a Divine Beast."

"That sounds important," Mario mused.

"It is—only a select few can control a Divine Beast," Master Hand said. "There were five Divine Beasts, and four of them were used in combat against Calamity Ganon before he took over them. The four Champions whose spirits you met in the fight against Galeem and Dharkon had been the pilots of the four main Beasts, after much preparation and training. The fifth Divine Beast is the Master Cycle Zero, piloted by Link—and now, apparently, Luigi, too. though after seeing how ready he was to take on Galeem and Dharkon all by his lonesome, I can't say that I'm too surprised. Your brother really is quite unique."

"Tell me something I don't know," Mario said, though he had to admit that he hadn't expected that explanation.

"Oh, _wow_," Pit said, watching Luigi pull the Master Cycle Zero out in front of the pack. "Look at him go! Mario, are you gonna tell him?"

"Mm-hmm—but after we're done here. I don't want him getting nervous once he finds out the significance of his ride."

He would wait—prove to his brother that the confidence he'd had in him all this time was not misguided, for there had been numerous times in their struggle against Galeem and Dharkon that Luigi had refused to believe in himself and his own strengths. It had been particularly frightening during the time when both Galeem and Dharkon had attempted to control Luigi, for he was the only one of the fighters with light and darkness. More than once, Mario had been terrified of the thought of Luigi just giving up and allowing the two fiends to have their way with him—fears that were manifesting after the fact in his own dreams… frightening images of his brother being an empty shell, controlled by the two monsters with no semblance of his true self left behind…

_No, I can't think about that—not in front of the others!_

"Mario?" Pit asked.

"It's fine, Pit; like I said, I'll tell him later!" Mario replied, putting on a smile. "Now let's win this thing!"

"Yeah!"

The rest of the races were enjoyable; they didn't really keep score (though it was clear that Luigi had won the majority of them with the Master Cycle Zero), but it didn't matter; they had needed the escape, and even the spectators had found themselves in high spirits as they watched the racers put their vehicles aside and head to the mansion for some food. Link awkwardly approached Luigi, unsure of how to express what he wanted to convey; he eventually decided on placing a friendly hand on Luigi's shoulder and giving him a nod of congratulations before joining the others.

Mario couldn't help but find it amusing to see Luigi slightly puzzled by this, still not knowing the full significance of what he had accomplished.

"Mario?"

"Ah, Peach!" he exclaimed, smiling at her. "How was it?"

"It was so much fun!" she said, grinning back. "This really was a wonderful idea you had—thank you!"

"Aww, it was nothing," he said, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just glad it cheered you up!

"…And what about you?" she asked, gently.

"Hmm? What do you mean? I've never been better; I just wanted to make sure that you and Luigi and everyone were feeling better, too!"

Peach gave him a long look before choosing her next words carefully.

"Mario, one thing I've always appreciated about you is your honesty. Don't let that change. You don't have to pretend that everything is fine—not with me, and certainly not with your brother. You always do so much for us; let us help you, too."

The metaphorical mask on Mario's face was beginning to fade.

"Do you know what I see in my dreams?" Peach continued. "I keep seeing the battle at the cliffside over and over again. I keep seeing Luigi suffering in Dracula's Castle and when Dharkon and Galeem tried to take him. And I keep seeing the times I lost you… The times when I thought I'd never see you again… This race was a great way for me to focus on something else, but I still need to talk about them."

"I… I wish I could… make them go away…" Mario managed to say. "Your bad dreams…" He let a sigh escape him. "…And mine…"

She pulled him into a tight hug; he hesitated a moment before returning it, and Peach could feel him tremble.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said, softly. "But talk it over with _someone_."

"…I just keep thinking about the things that could've happened to Luigi if… if we hadn't found him when we did…" Mario sighed. "And then later, when all of us except Luigi had been poisoned, you nearly died using up your healing magic to try to save me…"

"You were dying in my arms; I couldn't… I couldn't do _nothing_." She gently placed a hand on the side of his face. "I know you feel like you always have to protect Luigi and me, and that's one of the things that I admire most about you, but please don't ever forget that it goes both ways. I'm sure Luigi would agree with me."

Mario managed a nod.

"…I should talk to him, too."

"I think that would help a lot—for the both of you," Peach agreed. She kissed him on the cheek. "If you want to talk some more with me later, you know where to find me."

Mario nodded, and he waved as she headed back to the Mansion with Daisy and Zelda before turning back to his brother, who was returning with Raichu up the path.

"Hey, Luigi!"

"Hey, Big Bro!" Luigi replied, cheerfully. "That really was a fun race!"

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because you won?" Mario teased.

Luigi chuckled.

"Master Hand wasn't surprised that you won, seeing as though you were riding a Divine Beast."

"…I was riding a what?"

Mario repeated what Master Hand told him, and Luigi now looked rather embarrassed about it.

"…So is that why no one else was riding it? They couldn't get it to work? But somehow _I _could…?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Mario asked.

"Because I'm not… I'm not really that special—"

"The Master Cycle Zero says otherwise—and so do I," Mario insisted. "And it wasn't just that. Because of your light and darkness, you were the reason why we got so far. …But it was also why you were in such danger…"

"Well, so were you!" Luigi said. "You were right out in front, leading everyone, and after everything that had happened…"

He trailed off; they hadn't really talked about everything leading up to the battle against Galeem. Mario hadn't wanted to talk about what had happened at Dracula's Castle, given how much that had weighed on him, which had led to Luigi not bringing up what happened with Ridley, either—and Mario was beginning to realize that he had, in fact, made a mistake in that regard.

As the visions from his own nightmares returned to his mind, Mario now pulled his brother into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Little Bro," he said. "We should've talked about a lot of things."

"Well, we've never been through things this bad before," Luigi said, returning the hug. "It was new and terrifying for the both of us. And I'm used to being terrified more than you are."

"I don't think I've ever been more scared," Mario admitted. "Especially when I thought that I'd find you completely taken over by Galeem and Dharkon—that's what I've been dreaming about lately…"

"…Really?"

"I've been hiding it well; I didn't want any of the others to know that I'm…. Well, I've been trying to lead by example…"

"Sheik suspected as much," Luigi said. "You know, Big Bro, you always say that I can talk to you about anything. Well, you can, too."

"Peach knew you'd say that," Mario said, with a chuckle. "…And I think we both need to talk about a lot of things."

Luigi nodded.

"Over lunch?" he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Mario said. He sighed as they headed back towards the mansion. "Oh, and Luigi?"

"Yeah?"

"Congrats on winning the races today." He gave his brother a good-natured nudge on the shoulder. "I may have to challenge you to a rematch tomorrow."

"And by 'may,' you mean 'will,'" Luigi smirked. "Good luck trying to catch up with me and that Divine Beast! …Better get some practice in now on foot!"

He darted ahead up the path, followed by Raichu. Mario adjusted his cap and took off after him.

They had much to talk about and much to recover from, but they were well on their way.


End file.
